City Blood
by demonskie
Summary: [AU. The city's name was randomly chosen.] University is beginning again in the beautiful city of Konohana, and Alyth [an OC] has returned her hometown after being away for years. But she knows there's something strange happening. Alyth must face her demons from her time away if she wants to stop history repeating itself - if she wants to finally stop the tragedies that follow her.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a while since Alyth Faulkner was last in this city, this city with its shimmering glass buildings and bustling crowds.

The last time she'd been here, she'd punched a boy in the face for being cruel to her best friends, breaking his jaw, prompting an abrupt expulsion from her school. She supposed she should have been sorry, but, hey, he'd deserved it. She'd been expelled at the age of thirteen, and her parents had decided to move to an island near off the coast. "We're not moving because of what happened," they told her. "We're moving because several good job opportunities have arisen!"

Sure. Whatever you say.

She was nineteen, now, and knew that her parents had said that to simply spare her feelings. The city was big enough to be a city and not a town, but not big enough for a large amount of schools. When Alyth had been here, there'd been two primary schools, a single high school, and a single university. She'd been expelled in her second year of highschool, and had had no where else in the city to go.

So they'd moved.

And now she was back.

Alyth sighed, raking a hand through her long, dark hair. She was feeling slightly nostalgic, standing here at the busiest crossing in the city, watching the people and the cars go by.

"You look lost." A boy strawberry blond hair smiled gently at her, slowing in his walk. He had dark sunglasses on his head but not over his eyes, and a yellow orange vest jacket on. "Do you need any help getting anywhere, or...?"

Alyth glanced quickly at the boy. Did she know him? "I'm all right, thanks. Just taking in the view."

"You new here?"

She paused. "You could say that," she said slowly. Indeed, the city did feel new to her. It'd been six years; of course there would have been some changes.

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Well, anyway, my name's Rod."

Alyth blinked, slightly startled. She'd half expected him to have walked away by now. "I'm Alyth. It's nice to meet you, Rod. I appreciate the offer for help, from before." Rod... no, she didn't think she recognised that name.

He grinned. "It's awful nice to meet you too, Alyth. Well, I'll be going now, but it was nice meeting you, even if it was brief." He waved and walked off. Alyth watched as he jogged quickly across the road, heading towards what she thought she remembered as the Market.

Memories of the Market rushed through her head, and she sighed as she pushed them away. Her university classes were starting tomorrow; no use getting hung up on silly things.

This was, essentially, a new life, after all.

* * *

><p>Alyth shoved her laptop in her bag as she stood from her table at Howard's Cafe. She'd been there for an hour already, eating breakfast and sipping water as she'd gone on the Internet. She'd been looking for possible part-time jobs, and then had spent some time watching videos on her screen.<p>

She wasn't going to be late to her classes if she left now, but she most certainly wouldn't be early. And she always preferred being early. As she stood, she almost collided with the waitress.

"Oh, sorry," she said, glancing at the girl. The blond-haired female huffed, gathering up Alyth's plate and cup.

"It's fine," she mumbled back. The waitress glanced at Alyth, started to walk away, and then froze. "Hold on, do I know you?"

"Uh..." Alyth blinked multiple times, squinting at the blonde girl. Now that she thought about it... the waitress looked an awful lot like a girl in the year above her at high school. Alyth couldn't quite remember her name, but she did remember that she used to be one of the 'popular' kids, hanging out with that pleasant boy with the purple hat, and that other cocky, egoistic kid with the styled red hair. "Maybe?"

The girl - did her name begin with an L, maybe? - narrowed her eyes. "I do," she muttered. "Are... you the girl who punched that kid in my year so hard you broke a bone of his?"

Alyth sighed. She'd hoped to avoid awkward encounters like this _at least _until the first class.

But, no, it was just her luck.

"That's me," she said. "In my defense, he deserved it."

"Mmm." The waitress nodded, to Alyth's surprise. "He was a total dick. Um, is your name... Alyssa? Oh, no, wait, Alyth, right?" She smiled.

"Oh, yes. And you're... Lanna?" Wait, that still didn't sound right...

Lanna-not-Lanna smiled. "Laney. You were close."

"Ah." Alyth shuffled uncomfortably. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Laney."

"Likewise." Laney glanced at the bag Alyth was holding. "You going to uni here?"

"That's right." At this rate, Alyth _was _going to be late. "Do you not...?"

"Oh, I do, but I don't have a class until after lunch." Laney beamed.

"Ah, I see. Well, I'm the opposite - most of my classes are in the morning. Anyway, I have to go now, or I might not be able to make the first one." Alyth smiled vaguely at the older girl, who gasped.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I'm holding you up. Off you go. See you later!" Laney shuffled away, taking Alyth's plates to the kitchen, throwing a smile at the dark-haired girl. Alyth gave the blond hair a weak smile back and hurried out the door.

Warm air blew across Alyth's face as she hurried down the street, checking her watch. If she kept walking at this speed, she most likely would manage to get there on time...

She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder and relaxed when she saw the university's signpost outside their campus. There were several other kids hanging around there, laughing and talking and basically, interacting.

Alyth mentally prepared herself. They didn't look familiar from back here, but... she didn't really want to go through any more awkward encounters. She hurried across the road, and several of the people standing at the entrance turned to look at her.

Most of them she didn't know, but... there was that boy who'd hung out with Laney... Cameron or something like that. He turned his green gaze on her, but didn't comment as she walked past. She sighed quietly in relief, and looked around at the buildings.

They were pretty, like most of the buildings in this city. Some of them were made of old red brick, and some of them were made of glass. She liked both styles, and smiled a small smile as she glanced around.

She checked her watch. She still had a few minutes before her first class. No, wait, hold on, it was the introduction first, wasn't it? Didn't every student have to attend? But, then, what about Laney? Had she been lying, or had the girl forgotten?

Alyth sat on the bench beside the main lecture hall, where the introduction would happen. She half wanted to glance at the faces around her, and half didn't. In the end, she looked up to study the students.

She recognised multiple faces, despite it being six years since she'd last saw them. Ivan, an older boy who had always been rather popular in high school, along with his brother, Dirk. Alyth remembered him quite well, as he'd be the subject of many of her friends' crushes. There was also Amir, a foreign boy in her year, who was always around his best friend, Sanjay. Vaughn, the grumpy silver-haired pretty boy who had been a bit of a loner in high school. Chelsea, a girl who'd tried overly hard to be nice to Vaughn, and her friend Sabrina, a shy dark-haired girl with glasses.

Some faces she didn't recognise. They'd probably come from a different city, Alyth decided. That must be it. And Rod, as well, most likely.

She wasn't surprised when she saw the strawberry blond haired boy come into view, chatting with some friends. He'd certainly appeared intelligent enough on the street earlier in the week, and he definitely looked around about Alyth's age. She'd expected him to go to university, and so he did.

Her mobile buzzed in her pocket, and Alyth hurriedly pulled it out. It kept buzzing, the notification light flashing. She scowled at it. What now?

She pressed the power button, entered her password, and saw that she had multiple texts from an unknown number. Frowning, she pulled up her messages.

'_holy crap_!' the first one read. '_you're back?_' read another. Alyth blinked several times, confused, until a loud squeal interrupted her thoughts. Something barrelled into her, and her back squished painfully against the wooden bench. She groaned, pushing the person off her-

"Tina?!" Alyth's eyes widened, taking in one of her best friends from five years ago. The brown haired girl giggled and hugged Alyth again. "Oh, Jesus, okay you can get off me now. I'm happy to see you too."

As the weight shifted off her body, she noted that many of the students around them had stopped and begun to stare. Alyth sighed, but grinned when she saw Tina's beaming face.

"It's been too long," she gushed, sitting beside Alyth on the bench. "God, what, five years?"

"Six." Alyth took in Tina's new image. She'd been short when they were kids, but Tina had clearly shot up (much like Alyth had in her 3rd year away) and was a lot more gorgeous than when she had been when they were thirteen. Her brown hair was still short, but stylish, a healthy glow to her face and her green eyes sparkling like jewels. "You've grown taller."

"You have, too!" Tina clapped her hands together. "This is great. We need to catch up sometime! Oh, oh, and you have _got _to see Iroha! I know she'll be absolutely delighted to see you!"

Alyth smiled at the thought of seeing her other best friend again. She'd punched that blonde haired boy for both of her friends. They were the only people she'd punch someone else for.

An announcement for the introduction blared over the campus, and Tina stood quickly. She was just as full of energy as she had always been, ever since they were children. It was one of the things that Alyth had loved about her friend; her bubbly-ness. "Let's go, Alyth! We can see Iroha in the auditorium."

The darker haired girl let the brunette pull her to her feet. "Sounds good to me. Is she still the same as she was years ago?"

Something odd passed over Tina's face, but before Alyth could register it fully, it was gone. "You'll see!" Tina said, as cheerful as before. Perhaps Alyth had only imagined it. Tina pulled her towards the university's auditorium.

It looked like another new life was beginning, sprouting from an old one.


	2. Chapter 2

_[Yeah, kind of a slow start, sorry about that... But I promise, it gets better~_

_Just as a note for future reference, HM:AP characters may be a little out of character, as I've never played that game._

_Also, the school system is slightly odd in this story. It goes like this: Years 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 are 'Primary School'. Then, it goes: Year 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, which is 'High School'. Then you have normal university years. When Alyth left, she was in Year 9, and now she's starting her first year of uni. Hope that's not too confusing!]_

* * *

><p>When Alyth was younger, she used to dream about this.<p>

She used to dream that she'd be in Konohana's gorgeous university, sitting beside her best friends, smiling at all the cute boys. She'd be the top of her class, her parents would be proud of her, and she'd have nothing to worry about.

Some of these things were true. But majority of them were not.

Alyth's life had changed when she'd left Konohana. She'd gotten a new life, new friends, new dreams. She'd still wished to come to this university, but she'd hoped to be here with her friends from the island. But it hadn't happened.

She sat in the middle of the auditorium, feeling stiff as students filled in, all chatting animatedly. She didn't feel comfortable at all, especially when she started to notice the staring. There was lots of it.

Perhaps, she hoped as they filed in, they were staring at Tina, and not her. Yes, that was it. Right...?

"They're staring at you," Tina said, cocking her head at Alyth, who groaned.

So much for that theory. "Are you sure it's not you?" She pressed her lips together, shifting her bag under her feet.

"Oh, yeah," Tina said, grinning. "It's definitely you."

Ugh. She kept her head low, attempting to avoid the stares. "I don't suppose you have any idea why?"

"I have plenty of ideas why," Tina said cheerfully. Alyth blinked in surprise. "You know that boy you punched? Well, he's kinda po-"

"You're the girl who punched Neil?" A vaguely familiar voice interrupted Tina's explanation, and Alyth turned around (somewhat unwillingly) to look at the boy who was leaning over the back of the chair next to her. He had a familiar head of strawberry blonde hair, and sunglasses.

Ah. Rod.

He looked curious, his blue eyes narrowed slightly at her.

"Um." Alyth thought for a moment, distinctly uncomfortable as even more faces turned to stare at her. Why was this happening? This was so unrealistic. How could something that had happened _five years ago_ and had been rather insignificant and should be even more insignificant now coming up to haunt her? "Neil's the blonde guy who had red eyes?"

Rod nodded, leaning closer. Alyth sighed.

"Yes, but it happened five years ago and I don't really know why it still matters-"

"Hah!" Rod fell back into his seat, smirking. "I can't believe Neil got beat up by a girl!"

That irritated her. "First of all, I didn't 'beat him up'. I just punched him. Second of all, _what has being a girl got to do with how I punched him? _Are you saying girls are weaker than guys, and thus would find it harder to beat up someone than a guy would?"

Rod blinked, clearly not expecting that outburst. Alyth folded her arms, narrowing her own eyes at him. Before the blonde boy could respond, somebody cleared their throat through a microphone, and she turned to the front, ignoring the gaping of the students around her. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought. _How could so many people obsess over something so trivial?_

As she sat there, seething, the university dean began his long, droning speech. It was filled with welcoming words, but not a particularly welcoming tone; clearly, the dean didn't care. Alyth sighed, crossing her legs, half thinking about getting up and leaving right there. Though that might not be a good idea.

The speech went on, and Alyth took the chance to study the hall. It was huge, with three sections of seats, each section looking like it could seat four hundred, even five hundred people. The stage and podium at the front were also large, with big red curtains draped on the back wall.

She glanced quickly behind her, scanning the walls and trying to ignore the students (who, thankfully, didn't seem to be staring as much). As she shifted to turn back around, she spotted a familiar face.

Shock caused Alyth to freeze up, and she spun around, biting her lip. No... She'd imagined him. She had before as well. He wasn't real.

The rest of the assembly passed quickly. Alyth was still thinking about the boy when the dean finished talking, and Tina tapped her shoulder. "You okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, sorry. I was just thinking." She stood, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "What are you studying?"

"Ah, journalism of course!" Tina beamed. "Data journalism. I've got a cool professor, I've met her already. You?"

"Forensics." Alyth glanced at her friend to see her face darken again, before it was normal again.

"You're interested in that stuff?" They both squinted as they stepped out into the courtyard, where the sun was lighting the white stone up like fire, hurting their eyes.

"Yeah. I got into it at my old school." Something squeezed painfully in her chest as she said the words.

"Tina!" A girl's voice echoed over the yard, and they both looked up to see a group of students waving at them. Or at Tina, rather.

"Celia!" Tina beamed. She walked over to them, and Alyth trailed behind reluctantly. She didn't have a class until ten, anyway, and it was only half past nine. "Celia, this is Alyth. Alyth, Celia."

"Hi." Alyth smiled at the brown haired, fair-skinned girl.

"H-Hi." Celia smiled nervously, as Tina began introducing the other students in the group.

"This is Marlin, Celia's boyfriend, and Rock." She gestured to a dark haired and then a blonde haired boy. The dark-haired one looked grumpy, whereas the blonde one winked at her as Alyth wondered what kind of name 'Rock' was. "And, of course, you'll remember Sherry and Kathy."

Yes, Alyth did remember the kind girl with the chocolate-brown hair, and the somewhat sassy blonde girl. They'd hung out in primary school and also high school, but Alyth had never been as good friends with them as she had been with Iroha and Tina.

Regardless, Sherry grinned and hugged her. Alyth patted her back awkwardly; she'd never been good with hugs. "Hey," Kathy said, a smile decorating her face.

"Good to see you." Alyth smiled back.

"Well, now that all the introductions are over, why don't we-" Tina began, but a smooth, chilling voice cut over her words.

"Look who's back. And you're already causing trouble." Alyth glanced behind her, to see a dark-haired girl smirking and shaking her head. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She didn't recognise the girl until seconds after she'd finished speaking. There was no way... No... That girl didn't look like Iroha at all. And she didn't sound like her, either. Surely... not?

But, as the universe so loved to do, she was proved wrong. "Don't you remember your old friend, Iroha?" The girl spread her hands mockingly.

Alyth felt a chill settle over her, turning her to ice. "I do, actually," she said, trying to keep the confusion (and also the frostiness - it was her natural defense to be cold to someone who was being rude to her) out of her voice. "I just don't if that's you."

The girl's smirk turned sharp, and a certain coldness stabbed through Alyth's heart. She would never have said that to an old friend, but Iroha was different. She had changed. And Alyth could practically smell the trouble this new version of her would bring.

"You've been away for too long, Aly." Iroha took a step forwards. "Perhaps you should've come and visited."

"I lived on an island in the middle of an ocean. It was kind of hard." Alyth folded her arms.

"Iroha." A blonde boy stepped forwards, and his red eyes bored into Alyth's, who blinked in surprise, just then realising that there were three other people there. One of them was Rod. "She's not worth your time."

The boy she had punched looked older, but was clearly just as much of a jerk. He still had that kind of sharply handsome face, the kind you knew would cut you if you got too close.

A pretty girl with jet black hair laughed. "You're only saying that because your face got broken by her fist."

"Shut up, Sky," Neil said swiftly, and the other girl smirked. That name... Alyth recognised it. Had the girl gone to the same high school as she had?

"Neil's right, though, Sky." Iroha smiled lazily at Alyth, who looked impassively back. "She's not worth it."

"Then you should leave." Kathy spoke up, glaring at the four people there.

"Stop wasting our time," Marlin added. Iroha raised a lazy hand.

"See you later, freaks." She walked off, the rest of her posse following. Neil slipped an arm around Iroha's waist (really? _Really,_ Iroha?), and Rod walked beside Neil.

The other girl, however, Sky, stood there for a moment, and watched them. Or, to be more precise, watched Alyth. The two girls stared at each other, before the dark-haired girl sighed and walked off without another word.

Instantly, Alyth turned around, growling. "What's their problem?" she hissed. The group shared glances.

"I've never been able to figure it out, to be honest, Alyth." Tina shook her head. "About a year after you left, Iroha began to hang out with the other, more... _popular_ people."

"She ignored us," Kathy added. "And eventually started to insult and be rude to us. We don't really know what happened. It seemed like it had happened overnight."

Alyth picked at her shirt. "Lovely," she murmured. "And what's with that girl, Sky?"

"God knows." Kathy laughed. "She's even harder to figure out than Iroha."

"She's pretty cute though," Rock muttered, and Alyth raised an eyebrow as Celia smacked her friend.

"That's all you can think about!" she scolded.

Alyth turned, and glanced after the disappearing figure of the mysterious dark-haired girl. There was something familiar about her... Alyth couldn't figure out what.

Her mind drifted back to Iroha, and then Castanet. _My friends there are an awful lot nicer than Iroha is, _she thought. A cascade of memories fell over her; laughter and grins and dreams and silver and bedrooms and

_blood_

_god, there was so much blood_

Alyth fought back the bile rising in her throat, pressing a hand to her mouth. "Excuse me," she muttered through her fingers, and darted off to the nearest bathroom, where she threw up in the toilet.

She sat down on the lid after she'd flushed the sick away, and pressed her fingers to her forehead, shaking slightly.

_I'm going to be okay_, she told herself. _I'll be okay._

But she knew, in her heart, that she wouldn't be.

* * *

><p><em>[Note: Sky is an OC. She's got a specific personality, so none of the HM characters would have fit. Also, I know Iroha is out of character, but I tell myself this is what Iroha would be like if she turned evil.<em>

_Hope you guys have enjoyed it so far :)]_


	3. Chapter 3

_Before_

"Ready?" Chase asked, his coral-coloured hair clipped back as he brought his arms up.

Alyth grinned. "I'm ready." She, also, brought her arms up, holding them as he'd taught her in front of her.

Chase launched into a series of punches, kicks, and swings, as Alyth ducked and wove around him. A couple of times, his fist managed to connect with her shoulder or his leg hit hers. Every time, she told herself to get faster.

He was impossible to touch. While she was managing to evade him, he was doing the same with her. At least he got some blows in; Alyth didn't get any on him. Scowling, she blocked his next punch and aimed a kick at his side, which he then dodged. But, as he spun away, she kicked her other leg at the back of his knee, a blow which finally connected and caused Chase's knees to buckle. She lunged for him, pressing him down into the ground, an elbow on his back and knees on his thighs.

She grinned triumphantly. "I win!" she announced.

Chase huffed. "All right, all right. Now, get off me."

Alyth released her hold on him, and immediately he flipped and tackled Alyth to the ground. Yelping, she put a hand against his face and pushed. "That's cheating," she panted. Chase laughed.

"Never put your guard down. You won't ever win a match in real life simply by saying 'I win'." Chase got to his feet, dusted himself down, and offered Alyth a hand. She took it, grumbling.

"I did win, though," she said, smirking at him. "You're just angry because I did."

"Uhuh. And that's one win out of... what, fifty?" He stuck his tongue out at her as she scowled. "I won all the other ones, remember?"

Alyth sighed. "Fine, fine."

"Well, you're an awful lot better at fighting now than you were when you first came here," Chase said, trying to lift her spirits. It worked. Alyth brightened.

"You're right," she said. It had only been a year since she'd left Konohana, but she was fitting in well here. She'd asked Chase to give her some self-defense classes after a certain... incident in school in her second week.

She glanced at her watch, and yanked on her coat. "It's time for our shift. Come on."

She unlocked her front door and gestured for Chase to go first. He sighed as well, and grabbed his coat, stepping outside into the frosty winter air. "I can't be bothered today," he complained as she shut the door behind them. Alyth rolled her eyes.

"You can never be bothered." Alyth grinned at her friend as they trudged through the snow. "And anyway, you get to see Mayaaaa," she sang, "so why are you complaining?"

Chase blushed. "Yell it to the whole world, why don't you?" he muttered. Alyth laughed.

"I doubt the whole world could hear me. Don't be embarrassed, Maya's a great girl."

He sighed. "Well, if I'm honest, I don't think I like her as much any more."

Alyth blinked, and turned, frowning at him. "Why not?" she asked.

Chase shrugged. "Dunno."

"It's the hormones," Alyth teased, jabbing him in the ribs lightly. He yelped.

"Hey!" He made a grab for her, but she darted out the way. "I'll have you know, my hormones are perfectly controlled, thank you very much."

"Suuuure," she drawled back. "I'm certain your fourteen year old hormones are-"

Her back collided with something, suddenly, and she stumbled a bit before managing to regain her balance. Seeing it was a person she'd bumped into, she muttered, "Sorry."

"It's perfectly all right." A male's voice, one that was smooth and quiet and musical replied to her. Alyth turned around, her eyes widening as she took in the strikingly handsome boy before her.

He appeared almost ageless, with serious eyes and a serious face. His hair was a pale silver, as if he had aged, yet the shape of his face was young, and there were no creases in his skin to show old age. A white tattoo marked the skin beneath his right eye, which was a yellow-gold, different from his other eye, which was as green as the forest in summer.

"U-Um," she stammered. Beside her, she felt Chase tense, and turned to glance at him to hide her embarrassment.

"Gale," he said, nodding curtly.

"Good morning, Chase." The boy nodded back, his voice softer and with less of an edge than Chase's. His multicoloured eyes drifted to Alyth, who bit her lip. "Have a nice day." He picked up his book (which had dropped when Alyth had bumped into him) and went on his way, trudging through the snow. Alyth stared after him, trying to remember his face in her mind. But it was already fading.

Chase huffed. "Come on," he muttered. Alyth blinked, turned, and saw he was already a few metres away. She hurried to catch up with him.

"Who was that?" she asked.

"Gale. Resident pretty boy." Chase scowled, and Alyth bit back a giggle.

"Aw, are you jealous of him, Chase? I knew it was the hormones." Alyth danced away, laughing, as he growled and lunged for her. "Has he occupied the mind of every girl you've ever wanted?"

Chase glared at her, but she knew it wouldn't last. She winked at him, and finally he sighed. "Not every girl," he mumbled. They walked together towards the town hall, preparing for their turn of helping out at the farm. As Alyth hummed under her breath, she thought she maybe heard him say, "Not yet."

* * *

><p><em>Gale.<em>

_My name is Gale._

_I'm didn't come here to fall in love, but I think I_

"Alyth?"

Her name rang through the bathrooms, shaking the girl with the dark hair from her stupor. Alyth blinked, frowning, rubbing her head with her fingers.

What had she just been thinking about?

"Alyth, you in here?" Tina's voice cut through her thoughts again, and Alyth shook herself.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Tina." Alyth combed her fingers through her hair, and unlocked the bathroom stall door. She opened it to find Kathy and Tina staring at her worriedly.

"Are you all right?" Kathy asked. "You just ran off..."

"S-Sorry. I just didn't feel too good for a moment there." She smiled weakly at her friends - could she still call them that? - and went to the sink, washing her hands.

"You'll get over to it soon," Tina said softly. For a moment, Alyth was unsure as to what Tina was talking about. Then she realised: Tina meant Iroha.

"Yeah." She brushed her hair back from her face, despite her hands being wet. _I don't think I'll ever get over Castanet._

As soon as the trio stepped outside, Alyth instantly felt sick again. But it wasn't because of Castanet. No, this time there was something in the air.

She raised her face to look at the sky. There didn't appear to be anything wrong... Yet somehow, Alyth knew something was up. Something that made her remember her dreams.

She sighed, and checked her watch. "It's almost time for my first class," she said.

"Me, too." Tina looked disappointed. "I was hoping we could catch up some more."

"You poor souls." Kathy patted the other girls' shoulders with a smirk. "Mine's not 'till half ten."

Tina groaned. "Lucky." She grumbled something under her breath.

"What courses did you take, Kathy?" Alyth threw a curious glance at her friend (?).

"Ah, I took some cooking classes, as well as photography." The blonde haired girl grinned. "It's so fun. _And_ Luke is in all my classes!"

"Luke...?" The name rang a bell. She remembered just as Kathy said,

"Yeah, the blue-haired guy from high school. Do you remember? Bit of a scatterbrain, but as hot as hell." She looked kind of dreamy, and Alyth laughed.

"Have a good time with him. I'm going to head off now."

"We usually hang out in the north wing when we have a free period. Go there if you have a break!" Tina grinned and waved as Alyth left.

Alyth navigated her way using a map of the campus to the science block, where she only took a minute to find her classroom. Upon entering, she discovered that the class was nearly empty (perhaps people simply hadn't arrived yet?), and one of the few people who were in the classroom was...

That girl, Sky.

Alyth stiffened as the dark-haired girl looked up, and formed a lazy smile. She didn't say anything, however, as Alyth walked past, only watching her progress. Alyth glanced back at the girl, and something froze in her as she walked to an empty desk.

Multi-coloured eyes. One green, one aqua. White markings under her eye. How had Alyth not noticed it before, in the courtyard?

Her chest squeezed painfully. Oh, God. Surely this was just her mind playing tricks on her? After all, the other boy she'd met in Castanet with almost the exact same eyes and the exact same markings had simply been her mind conjuring up a boy. He hadn't been real.

He hadn't been real.

* * *

><p><em>[All right, I know it's a bit confusing. As you might have been able to tell, the first part is a flashback; after the line, it's back to normal. In the flashback, Gale (or Wizard) is a real person, but at present, Alyth thinks he's only a part of her imagination, only a part of her dreams. Why? I guess you'll find out.<em>

_Also, I know Kathy x Luke isn't the canon pairing according to the HM games (it's Kathy x Owen, and Luke x Selena) but I thought I'd change it up a bit.]_


	4. Chapter 4

_[ ScipioPB: Thanks for all the reviews :) I'm glad you're liking it so far.]_

* * *

><p><em>Before<em>

Coughs racked Georgia's body, and Alyth looked over at her red-headed friend with worry. "You should really go home."

"Bleh." Georgia waved a hand, sniffing as she looked around the school canteen. "I'm fine."

Chase raised an eyebrow. "You don't _sound _fine."

She glared back. "You don't _sound_ anything."

The light-haired boy chuckled. "That didn't even made any sense, G."

She flipped him off, leaning back in her seat with a sigh. "I don't want to go home," she said. "My dad's being annoying again. _And_ Ash keeps coming over to visit! No offense to Ash, but Lord he can be way too chatty."

Alyth giggled. "Georgia, he keeps coming over to see you!"

Georgia made a face. "Well, I don't want to see him."

"I think you're breaking his heart, G." Chase looked incredibly amused.

She smirked, her mouth forming into a mischievous grin. "And what about you, Chase? Broken any hearts recently? Had yours broken?"

Perhaps if Alyth had been paying attention (she was staring towards the yelling of the Year 11s, who were causing quite a ruckus in one corner of the canteen), she would have noticed the meaningful look Georgia threw at her and the way Chase's face reddened.

"N-No." Chase coughed. "Can we move on?"

Georgia looked thoughtful. "Hmm... No."

Groaning, Chase plunked his head onto the canteen table. Alyth looked back around at the sound, and frowned. "You all right there, Chase?"

Immediately his head whipped up, while Georgia giggled. "I'm fine." He gave her a sheepish grin, which she returned.

But soon her attention returned to the 11th years. "What's up with them?"

Georgia giggled again, and a scowl formed on Chase's face. "Gale is here," she sang.

Alyth blinked. "Who's- Oh, him." She remembered a vague face with different coloured eyes and silvery-white hair. _The resident pretty boy_, Chase had called him. "Why are they freaking out?"

"All the girls are flirting with him." Maya came and slipped into the seat beside Chase as Alyth raised her water bottle to her lips. "It's been non-stop all day. Every time I pass the boy in the corridors: 'Oh, Gale, what a nice tattoo! Maybe you can put one on me!'"

Alyth almost spat out her water.

"'Gale, you have such nice hair! Why don't you come over and plait mine for me?'"

The other two girls began to giggle. Chase smirked, and said, "Do they mean that hair?" while pointing to his groin.

The giggling turned to full-scale laughing, with Alyth and Georgia having small tears slip out of their eyes. Maya, too, was chuckling.

"Anyway," the blonde girl continued, "now all the boys are jealous and trying to get the girls' attentions. Some of them are trying to be friendly to Gale, too, but some of them hate him because he's a real ladies man." She winked.

Georgia snorted. "I doubt he's ever kissed anyone in his life! You never ever see him with a girl that isn't his sister!"

"He has a sister?" Alyth raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! She's in Year 9, and she has pale hair too. Her name's Vivi."

Ah. Her. The spitfire girl with a bad attitude in the year below them. Alyth grinned.

Chase sighed. "I don't want to talk about Gale all day," he complained.

"Oh, you're just-"

"Shut it." Chase glared at Georgia who, once again, giggled. The giggles then turned into coughing.

"Wow," Maya observed. "You _are_ sick."

The red-headed girl rubbed her nose. "Yeah... But I still don't want to go home."

Alyth folded her arms. "Okay, you're going home, whether you like it or not," she announced, and stood, grabbing her bag from under the canteen table. "I'll take you home."

Georgia looked up at the other girl. "R-Really? But you've got classes after lunch..."

"Psh." Alyth waved a dismissive hand. "They're less important than you. Anyway, it's only Computing and Business..." She faked a shudder.

"We'll tell the office that you went with her to make sure she didn't collapse, or something," Maya said. She glanced at Chase and smiled shyly. The boy in question, however, formed an awkward smile and edged away from her a little.

Georgia stood slowly from the table. "Thanks, Alyth!" she beamed. "And you too Maya!"

"You're welcome." Maya didn't even look at them. It was funny, Alyth thought, how she only started to like him once he stopped liking her. Or, so Chase said. Alyth wasn't really sure if it was truly the case, but from the way Chase looked now...

He coughed, glancing away, down the table.

Yeah, she figured he was telling the truth.

She felt kind of bad for leaving him there, and if she told the truth she'd admit there was a slight pang in her chest at the thought of Maya preying on Chase. But, Chase was a big boy. He could handle himself.

Probably.

The two girls exited the canteen, with Georgia clutching Alyth's arm tightly. Frigid February air blasted them as they stepped outside.

"Hey, Alyth..." Georgia began. Alyth glanced at her friend.

"Yeah?"

"Are you really okay with leaving Chase in there alone with Maya?"

Alyth raised an eyebrow. "Should I not be?"

Georgia paused. "Well, I mean, it's just that Chase li-"

She stopped abruptly, her whole face freezing.

"Georgia? Are you okay?" The other girl's grip on Alyth became painful, and she raised a shaking finger. Alyth glanced towards where Georgia was pointing.

The blood seemed to flow out of her face. "Is that...?"

"Yeah." Georgia shuddered and turned away, looking like she was about to be sick. "That's blood. And that's a body."

* * *

><p><em>After<em>

Alyth glared at the partial fingerprint she'd been given by her professor to analyse. She had absolutely no idea how to find a match; there was less than half of the fingerprint left, and most of it was already smudged.

She scowled, and half-slammed her hands onto her table in irritation. Her classmates, too, looked puzzled. There were lots of sighs going around the classroom.

Alyth looked towards the front, where Sky was working silently. From this angle, Alyth could see part of her white tattoo, the design intricate but small upon her cheek. Alyth bit her lip; clearly, the dark-haired girl knew what she was doing.

"Sir, this is impossible," one girl whined. Professor Ivan, a handsome young teacher with caramel coloured hair and blue eyes, raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing's impossible. Look, Sky here has got it." He gestured to the girl mentioned, who blinked innocently as she looked up.

"Yeah, but that's because Sky's a bloody genius," the boy in the desk next to hers muttered. Alyth glanced at him.

"Did you go to high school with her?" she asked.

The boy, who had ginger-strawberry blonde hair, nodded. "Smartest in the class, no contest. She got all the academic awards, and she plays several musical instruments _and_ is a pro at sports." He shook his head. "It's totally unbelievable." He glanced at Alyth, who had a bit of a shocked look on her face. "I'm Philip, by the way. What's your name?"

"Alyth." She smiled at him. There was something familiar about him... "It's nice to meet you, Philip."

He smiled back. "Same here, Aly. Can I call you Aly?"

"Go for it." She turned back to her table, looked at it for a few minutes, and flopped down on her seat with a sigh. "You know what, I really can't be arsed."

"Me neither." Philip scratched his head. "I'm pretty sure Sky's the only one who can be arsed."

Alyth smirked, a tiny bit. "She's also the only one who can actually do it."

The Professor clapped his hands together. "All right. I did, in fact, give you this on purpose. It was supposed to be hard; it's not even university work!"

The whole class sprung up with anger. "Why did you make us do it then?"

"That's not fair!"

"How did you expect us to do this?"

"Sir!"

"Calm down, everyone," Professor Ivan said. "I wanted to test you. Everyone responds differently to complex situations. Some people continue working hard" -he looked at Sky- "and some people complain. Some people give up, some people, ah, physically respond." He mimed banging his hand into the table. "In a real work environment, there is only one way you should respond: continue to work. If you honestly, honestly cannot do it, ask your superior or whoever assigned you the task for help. Which none of you actually did." He raised an eyebrow, and about half the class cringed.

"The way to correctly was to use a predictive indexing algorithm. Which I didn't expect any of you to know. So, frankly, I'm quite shocked that someone was close to figuring out the identity of the fingerprint."

The whole class looked at Sky, who glanced somewhat lazily back.

"All right, let's move on to the easier stuff." The Professor pulled out a large wad of paper from his desk, and began handing them out. Alyth stared at the back of Sky's head; Philip had been right, Sky was extremely smart. And Alyth knew she had seen that kind of intelligence somewhere before. Perhaps on Castanet? There was nowhere else... But Alyth couldn't think of anyone like that. _Chase, Georgia, Maya, Ash... no, none of them._ She ran through a list of the people she'd known in the year above and even below, but still came up blank.

She rested her hand on her cheek, grinding her teeth together. Who was it? This was bugging her so much.

"You look a little frustrated there." Philip's voice floated out to her, and she turned her face to the cheerful boy. "You all right?"

Alyth dipped her head. "Just fine," she muttered, before sighing. "Sky reminds me of someone, but I just can't figure out who."

Philip shrugged. "Can't help you with that, I'm afraid. Perhaps my sister could."

She blinked. "Your sister?"

"Yeah, Lillian Gray." He smirked at her, and Alyth's eyes went wide with surprise.

"Um, I might be totally crazy here, but does your sister live in Castanet...?"

"That's right." Philip grinned. "She told me to look out for you. Said you were interested in the same classes as me. And hey, turns out the very girl she was talking about ends up sitting beside me."

Ah, Lillian. She'd moved to Castanet High School when Alyth had been in Year 12, and they'd become fast friends. She grinned, remembering all her memories with the pale-haired girl.

"How come you never went to Castanet?" Alyth asked. They both quietened as Ivan dropped papers on their desk, but as soon as he was out of earshot, Philip said,

"We had different goals. She moved there because she had an interest in the island. She didn't come back because of some boy she likes." He frowned, and Alyth couldn't suppress a small laugh.

"I see you have the protective brotherliness going on there." She smirked. "And, just so you know, her boyfriend is a decent guy." He'd been obsessed with Georgia for a couple of years, but... that was besides the point.

Philip huffed. "Whatever. I don't want to know."

Before Alyth could reply, their Professor called, "Take a look at your first assignment."

Enter collective class groan. Alyth sighed, and looked down at her sheet of paper.

It was going to be a long year.

* * *

><p><em>[Just do you guys know, I didn't have any idea as to what I was rambling on about when it came to figuring out the fingerprint thing. shrug.]_


	5. Chapter 5

_[[Gah, I'm so sorry anyone who's been reading! I've not felt the Muse until like, now. Hopefully this chapter is to your liking.]]_

_Before_

Alyth wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. She was sat on a stool inside the Brass Bar, a glass of orange juice in front of her, but she wasn't thirsty. Drinking was the last thing on her mind.

A breeze of cold air brushed against her, but she didn't bother turning to see who had entered the bar. A moment later, a pale-haired boy sat down beside her.

"Are you all right?" Chase asked.

Alyth couldn't bring herself to answer, merely twirling the straw in her drink. Her friend was thankfully silent and simply ordered a drink from the bartender, who smiled at Chase; he often worked shifts at the Bar, just to help out when he didn't have any other business to attend to.

She sipped from her orange juice, and recoiled when it tasted like blood.

"You know that... that I'm always here for you, if you need someone?" Chase leaned forwards, making sure he was in her line of sight. She turned her head to him, feeling dull as she looked into his face. Her minds absently noted how _pretty_ he was, with his hair clips (which were often made fun of by the other guys), soft, silky hair (she'd tried to tug on it several times when she was annoyed with him), bright violet eyes (like beautiful, shimmering amethysts), lean body (a bit _too_ lean for Alyth; she felt like he was going to snap, though he insisted that he ate enough), and his trademark smile (sarcastic, generally, but often when he was with his closest friends it became softer and more lovely).

It wasn't that she had romantic feelings for him. At least, it didn't feel that way. She decided it was down to the death - oh god, the death - that she'd seen this afternoon. She needed to appreciate the things in life.

Alyth realised she'd just been staring at him as he shuffled uncomfortably and said her name in a questioning tone.

"O-Oh, yes, of course I know." She smiled and patted his hands, which were knotted tightly on the bar's counter. "I appreciate that, Chase."

He blinked before flushing slightly, pulling his hands back. "J-Just tell me if you want to talk about it," he stammered. "I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick, sorry." He put down his school bag and rushed off to the restrooms.

Giggles from her other side caught Alyth's attention, and she turned to see Marian, one of the barmaids, grinning at her. "What a nice boy," she mused softly. "Is he your boyfriend, Alyth?"

"Chase? No, not at all." She smiled back at the pretty blonde. Many men and women had tried to woo Marian, but the maid had never shown any mutual interest. She asked, just to be polite, "You found anyone, yet?"

"No." The older girl sighed as she stacked glasses onto a tray. "But I don't mind." She smiled softly before going back to the kitchen.

Alyth reached for her orange juice, but then flinched as she remembered the taste it had given her. Her mouth went dry as she remembered the scene:

_Blood, blood, everywhere. Dripping onto the white snow, forming a pool of crimson; little rivulets spilling down the bark, forming pathways marked with red._

_And then, of course, the blood on the body itself, painting it dead._

_"I-I'm going to get help!" Georgia cried, and rushed back towards the school. Alyth could hear her friend screaming about the dead body._

_She took an unconscious step forward. Her mind felt frozen as she stared. The man (it was definitely a man) was hanging from the branches, his form twisted and broken and bloody, his face unfamiliar._

_Finally, the bile rose in her throat and she turned her face away, thinking she was going to be sick. But nothing came until the teachers and the students came rushing out, yelling for someone to call the police, an ambulance, something._

_"Are you all right?" one teacher asked her, and she nodded, even though she wasn't. Even though she knew she might never be again._

"Alyth? You okay there?" Chase's voice broke through her thoughts, and she forced down a shudder as she turned to smile at her best friend.

"Y-Yeah. Just still a little shaken up, I think. But I feel a lot better now, thanks." She shifted on her seat as Chase sat down beside her.

"That's good. I wish I could help..."

"Ah, it's fine." Suddenly, she felt awkward, a feeling she hadn't felt around Chase since the first time she'd met him. His gaze was intense as he stared at her, and the abrupt urge to blush gathered in her chest. "Um, do you want to get anything to eat?"

Chase's gaze slid to the menu on the table in front of them before slipping back to Alyth. "I'm not hungry, for once." He ran a hand through his hair. "Do you want to go out somewhere? Anywhere, just... not here."

How did he know how she felt so well? She smiled up at him, the feeling of awkwardness gone. "Please."

"Why don't we head out to the forest? Apparently it's quite nice when it's snowing." Chase stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Your parents won't mind?"

"I don't really care." She grinned at him. "The Fugue Forest it is then. I haven't been there in ages. I wonder if it's changed any."

"Of course it has, Aly," Chase said with a roll of his eyes. "It is a forest, you know."

"I hate you sometimes," she answered, before looping her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I know."

She didn't notice the burning blush in his cheeks, and instead thought about being able to feel like this forever. Comfortable and happy, standing next to someone who cared.

* * *

><p>"Holy shit!"<p>

The room burst into raucous laughter and applause as Rock slammed the beer pitcher loudly onto the table. "How the fuck can you drink all that so fast?" Marlin asked, shaking his head in amusement.

Alyth put her cheek on her hand, grinning as the two boys began to throw rude but joking remarks at each other. This wasn't how she'd imagined spending her first day - or, in fact, evening - of university; sitting in a bar, drinking rounds with her new and old friends. They were all good company, of course, but she just didn't know them well enough. Even Tina seemed alien to her.

She sipped at her orange juice absent-mindedly. Well, if she hadn't joined them, she probably would have been at her apartment alone, anyway. Taking a quick glance at her watch, she noted that it was only seven in the evening. She couldn't believe they were all drinking so much, and without even having dinner either.

Alyth took a glance at the menu on her table, doing her best to ignore the cheering and whooping around her. They did sell food here, but it was mostly junk food; burgers and chips, fried fish, pizza...

She stood, and Tina, who was sat beside her, shot her a quizzical look. "Where're you going?"

"I'm just going to get something to eat." Alyth offered her friend a smile and made her way to the bar, conscious of Tina's gaze watching her. She slipped into a seat and waved a hand to the nearest waiter behind the bar. Dimly, she noted the long, pale hair, and when the man turned she got quite a start.

Sharp, crystal-like green eyes gazed at her from under long, white lashes. His features were delicate; light lips curved in the slightest of smiles; angular cheekbones that could cut glass if he wanted; pale skin that reminded Alyth of porcelain. And those eyes.

She'd seen them before, somewhere. That colour... She had most certainly seen them before. But where?

"Can I help you?" he asked, smiling prettily at her. He _was_ pretty, she thought somewhat distractedly. Rather than quietly handsome, like-

Like who?

A vague face formed in Alyth's mind. Long, braided silver hair; tanned skin; a white tattoo; and a green eye-

She inhaled sharply, the image gone as soon as it had come, and then she looked at the waiter in puzzlement. _What_ had she been thinking about?

"Do you need anything?" the man pressed on. He looked about her age, yet somehow had an aura about him that gave him a feeling of wiseness that no one their age could possess. She glanced at his name tag; _Skye,_ it read.

"O-Oh, no, it's fine. Sorry, I just suddenly forgot what I was here for." She looked around the room. That was right. She was there with her friends from university. Why had she decided to join them, again?

When she glanced back at the boy, he had a curious expression upon his face. "That's all right," he said. "What's your name? I'm Skye, but I prefer being called Steiner." He smiled at her.

"Oh, I'm Alyth. It's nice to meet you, Steiner." She stood and was about to smile back when she suddenly felt dizzy. "I'm terribly sorry, I just need to dart outside for a moment, I don't feel so good."

"Do you want-?" he began, but she was already out the door.

She ran and ran, even though she didn't know why she was running, and collapsed onto a bench. It was dark outside now, and it helped calm her nerves. _What_ had she felt so sick about? There was something about that boy - something so horribly familiar that it made her ill.

She drew her legs up to her face, leaning against the wooden back of the bench, shivering. She'd barely been back a week, and already this city was engulfing her in bad fortune.

Perhaps she should have never come back.

But then she probably would be dead.

* * *

><p>"Skye?"<p>

The pale haired boy sighed into the phone at the sound of his name. "I thought I told you to call me Steiner."

"I like Skye better."

"Why? Do you _wish _to get Sky and I mixed up?" Steiner opened his fridge with the hand not holding the phone and pulled out an apple, biting into it as his brother answered,

"It's your birth name, Skye. I wouldn't feel right calling you by another name."

"We wouldn't want you to feel wrong, now, would we?" He set his apple down. "Anyway, that doesn't matter. I need to talk to you about something."

A small silence. "What is it now? Did you accidentally charm some poor girl again-"

"No. No, for once, it wasn't myself who did the charming." Steiner smirked even though his elder brother couldn't see. "Well, I did a little, but only to patch up something _you_ did."

He could imagine his brother tensing, his different eyes narrowing upon hearing this. "What are you talking about?" he said tightly.

"The girl. You know who I'm talking about. The one _you_ enchanted to make her forget all about you. Well, clearly you didn't charm her well enough. She saw my face and began to remember you."

"_She saw you_?" Fury coated his brother's words. Steiner rolled his eyes.

"Calm down, brother. I didn't go out and purposely seek her; she merely was at the bar tonight. She saw my face, we exchanged a few lines of conversation - during which I had to enhance your enchantment, you're welcome - and then she ran out." Steiner took another bite from his apple. "What do you want me to do?"

This time the silence lasted for several moments. Steiner didn't rush his brother - he knew he always needed to think things over.

"For now, nothing," he finally said. "Sky goes to her school, correct?"

"That's right. And let me tell you how much she hates it. Rants to me every night."

"Tell her to keep doing surveillance," his brother continued, ignoring him. "And let me know if anything else occurs. I'm hanging up now."

"No, you're not. I have an important question for you, brother." Steiner bit into his apple again, before tossing it into the bin nearby.

"Fine. What do you want?"

"Why was your enchantment so terrible? You're an expert, you shouldn't be making mistakes like that." This was something Steiner did not understand. His brother just _didn't _do things like this.

"It was an accident. It happens to everyone." His voice was cool as ever with his reply.

"Not to you. Do you want to hear my theory? I think that you're infatuated, brother, and that you-"

The line disconnected.

"-don't have the guts to make the girl you love forget you." Steiner took the phone from his ear, stared at it, and laughed. "Good luck sorting this mess out, Gale, my brother." Shaking his head, the silver-haired waiter dropped his phone on the kitchen counter and went to inform his twin about the news. Sky barked a laugh, cursed, broke a few things, and said, "If Gale's so obsessed, he can do it his-fucking-self."

But they both knew that she'd do what she was told. He was the better Wizard, after all.


End file.
